ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A former university student was arrested as the main suspect for fatally shooting a faculty dean and lecturer in the Kurdish capital on Tuesday over an academic-related feud, shocking locals in Erbil where gun violence remains rife.
Four years earlier, Aras Mahdi Qassim started his first year of law at Soran University before he was expelled for his poor grades. He continuously attempted to transfer his studies to Salahaddin University’s law faculty in Erbil in a request that was repeatedly rejected due to his low marks, Himdad Faisal, dean of Soran University’s Faculty of Law told Rudaw of the student.
Qassim, who has previously clashed with law lecturer Nishtiman Osman over his Erbil transfer request, readied his gun early morning and made his way towards her house determined to commit a crime.
The woman had filed a lawsuit against Qassim and was in the Soran administration on Tuesday to attend the first court session. Her husband, Idris Izzat, who is also a well-known university academic in Erbil, was alone at home when the student arrived.
The neighbors told Rudaw that CCTV footage showed that Izzat had opened the door and Qassim appeared with a gun. The old man fearfully ran towards the neighbors’ rooftop where he was followed by the student who then fired at him, ending his life.
The suspect then headed to Salahaddin University’s College of Law where he fired about a dozen bullets at a security guard, who was injured, and the dean of the faculty of law, Kawan Ismael, who died after undergoing surgery at a hospital in the city.
Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw confirmed that both victims were killed by the same suspect.
Security forces announced the arrest of the suspect a few hours after he fled the crime scenes.
One of the suspect's brothers, Qassim Mahdi Qassim, told Rudaw on Tuesday afternoon that they were saddened by the death of the two renowned academics, claiming that his brother was "suffering from mental illness."
Head of Salahaddin University Kamaran Younis said the issue between the student and the female lecturer stemmed from a transfer order as “the student [Aras Mahdi Qassim] has repeatedly asked to be transferred” from Soran’s law faculty to Erbil’s.
Izzat was a long-time lecturer at Salahaddin’s Mechanical Engineering Department.
Gun violence is high in the Kurdistan Region and the government has struggled to bring gun ownership under control.
“This is the country of guns,” Izzat’s brother said as tears trickled down his cheeks following the killing of the person he described as his “backbone.”
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani expressed his condolences to families of the victims following the "brutal and heart-wrenching" incident.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also offered his sympathy in a tweet, saying “unlicensed guns must be eradicated” in the Region.
Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani reiterated that the phenomenon of armed violence should be combatted.
Firearms, including sniper rifles and machine guns, can be purchased on the black market. An estimated 70 percent of people in the Kurdistan Region own weapons.
The Region’s parliament last year said it is considering a new law that will impose tighter regulations for obtaining gun licenses to bring gun violence under control.
Erbil saw 79 murders and 28 shooting incidents in the past year, according to data from the city’s police.
